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  1. #1
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    Dec 2004
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    Car q: source for cheap used plastic body parts

    During a trip to visit various friends & relatives in DC this past weekend, even while staying in a nice neighborhood, the plastic pieces were stolen from my wife's 2014 Subaru Impreza where the accessory fog lights would be mounted (which we never had):


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    Based on my recollection and some on-line pictures, the missing part is just a covering.
    And given the open hole in the bumper assembly, seems like it should be replaced, otherwise it will be collecting all sorts of gunk.

    Many (many) years ago I found a somewhat similar part at a u-pull-it place.
    (Gave me a map of the massive sea of wrecked cars for to locate my model, then with a few minutes of screwdriver work and a few dollars I was all set – quite the experience!)
    Then once I found a used sun visor on-line.

    Any particular websites that are best for something like this?

    Oh, and here’s a more cheerful picture of our nation’s capital.
    (Although our daughter complained that it was “unfair” for our President to have a bigger yard than ours!)


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    Thanks in advance for any useful feedback and/or entertaining commentary (politicized or otherwise).
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Find the part number here: parts.subaru.com then use google/ebay to find it cheap.
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  3. #3
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    Nov 2011
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    Car-part.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    REI parking lot.

    Seriously previous comments nailed it.

    Piece from Parts.subaru will need paint, which you can supply via color match rattle can. (Available online from an outfit like this one. http://www.automotivetouchup.com/spray_paint.asp) You'll need to know your color code, usually it's on a panel/sticker inside the door frame.

    car-part.com you should be able to track them down at a junk yard in the correct color if you're really, really patient and that color is fairly common for the model and chassis series, etc.
    Damn, we're in a tight spot!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    I'd add the foglights.
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
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    Super, thanks!

    I found the parts numbers and submitted a request to car-part.com (which doesn't seem to list items that small on-line).
    I think that part is always just black though.

    And I suppose if the price ends up being kind of high, we could always just install fog lights instead.
    (And then avoid parking overnight in urban neighborhoods, since I suspect the thieves were hoping to steal fog lights, not those cheap plastic inserts -- unless people are really that desperate, ugh...)
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  7. #7
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    Also Might be worth looking at some Subie chat boards. If someone added fogs to their car they might have the panels for sale cheap.
    Damn, we're in a tight spot!

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Obstruction View Post
    Also Might be worth looking at some Subie chat boards. If someone added fogs to their car they might have the panels for sale cheap.
    Clever idea, thanks, but I think anyone who upgraded to fog lights will be selling only the circular covers, not the kind of bracket that I also need.
    Then again, hmm, why not just tape over the holes with duct tape?
    All I really need to do is keep snow and large pieces of road debris from flying into those holes and then accumulating.
    (Fortunately my wife doesn't care about the appearances of these things on her ... I think.)
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Is that birdshit on the hood? If you're already neglecting basic maintenance, why worry about the missing parts.
    www.apriliaforum.com

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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vt-Freeheel View Post
    Is that birdshit on the hood? If you're already neglecting basic maintenance, why worry about the missing parts.
    Yes, in addition to having some bumper parts stolen one of those nights in the alley behind my friend's house, every single night my wife's car was dive-bombed by birds!
    Kind of colorful in a way -- white, purple, black.
    Our daughter was very distraught and inquired about car washes in DC.
    (Sometimes I've taken her to the car wash near our house just for fun, as I pretend that monsters are attacking our car, just like my father did with me in what must have been a relatively early automated car wash in the early 1970s.)
    We explained that would have to wait under we arrived back home where the car would henceforth be protected in our suburban attached garage...
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

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